CHAPTER 18: THE BLOOD OF AN ANGEL

"It’s alright!" Roxanna shouted back. "I’ll climb up there!"

But how exactly she was supposed to climb that tree was a big question. She had never climbed a big tree before, especially not without a ladder.

The evil Roxanna might’ve been able to do it, but since she had only recently taken over this body, she wasn’t confident she could pull it off.

While she was still panicking over it, Azul suddenly scooped her up with one arm and climbed the tree using the other.

[My Azul is so strong!] she screamed proudly in her mind.

Calen twitched at the corner of his eye. Out of all five husbands, Roxanna had only ever openly claimed Azul as "hers," and that alone was enough to make the fish beastman act like he ruled the world.

"Dear heaven..." Roxanna gasped, covering her mouth with both hands as she saw Skiv up close.

Just like Calen said, Skiv was barely breathing. His eyes could only open halfway. "L-Leader..." he whispered weakly.

Skiv immediately vomited blood the moment he tried to call out to Roxanna. He couldn’t even reach for her because his arm was too weak to lift.

"Don’t speak," Roxanna said firmly but softly. "You’ll only hurt yourself more."

As she checked his injuries, she heard the sound of footsteps gathering under the tree.

"Why is there so much blood here?!"

"Shit, Skiv! That boy is up there!"

"Oh, poor kid! He looks like he’s going to die any second!"

"No one will die!" Roxanna suddenly shouted at the crowd below. Her eyes turned slightly red because she was genuinely angry that they spoke about someone’s death so casually. "Skiv will NOT die!"

The Vixeria Tribe members quickly looked away after she scolded them. Even so, they continued whispering among themselves.

"But his wounds look so terrible. I bet he needs a whole bag of blood for himself."

"Do you think the leader will give him her blood? She already gave us three whole bags."

"Will she even be alright?"

"She won’t give him anything! Our leader won’t be that stupid!"

Pink foxes could heal wounds or even regrow limbs quickly, but their blood was the most vital part of that ability.

You could say their blood was like fuel that powered their healing. That was why losing too much blood made it difficult for them to use their healing ability again.

Older pink foxes could handle losing a lot of blood, but someone young like Roxanna would definitely get sick.

Sure, she wouldn’t die, but she would definitely be sick for a while. Based on what people knew, the sickness caused by low blood levels in pink foxes was terrible, even Loba had never wanted to experience it.

However... how could any sickness compare to the possibility of someone dying?

Maybe she would develop a horrible fever, but she would rather suffer through fever than watch someone she knew die because she refused to give her blood.

Besides... maybe Skiv could forgive her if she saved him now.

The problem was... she might have to stab the part of her body that could gust a lot of blood, like her outer thighs.

"No." Azul slowly shook his head before Roxanna could even speak. "I won’t stab you. Roxanna, you’ve already used so much blood today. Grandma Mia might still have some left for Skiv."

"There’s nothing left," Roxanna replied gently. "I saw Grandma Mia use every last drop in the waterskins. But it’s fine, I won’t die just from blood loss."

"You’ll get a bad fever," Azul argued, still trying his best to stop her. "I heard pink foxes get really sick when they lose too much blood."

Calen stayed quiet on the other side because Azul had already said everything he wanted to say.

"You can’t compare a fever to someone dying." Roxanna smiled softly and patted his shoulder. "Azul... I’ve wronged Skiv and Lilo before, so many times. So let me make up for all my sins now."

Sins, my ass, the husbands thought.

The real sinner—the evil Roxanna—wasn’t even in that body anymore. Why did this angel have to be the one paying for all of her sins?

"Please... Azul." Roxanna looked at him with such pitiful eyes. "If I don’t save him, I’ll feel even worse. Besides, you’ve known Skiv for a year, haven’t you?"

Azul turned to look at Skiv, and yes... he did pity the boy. But it still felt wrong to let this angel take all the blame for something she never did.

"If you can’t stab me, then I’ll do it myself," Roxanna said once more.

[I’ve never stabbed myself before,] she admitted in her mind. [But I watched Zeir do it earlier, so... it shouldn’t be that hard.]

"I just need something sharp, like—"

"Fine, I’ll do it." Azul inhaled deeply, his eyes softening as he looked at her. "I’ll do it quickly, but it will hurt."

"I can handle pain." Roxanna lifted the corner of her lips. "Zeir did this to me earlier, and I didn’t even cry."

[Okay, maybe I cried a little... but the pain went away afterward,] Roxanna thought. [Besides, the more I do this, the higher my pain tolerance will get. And... it’s not like this is the first time I’ve hurt myself, maybe not as extreme as stab myself though]

Calen and Azul stiffened when they heard that last part. What did she mean this wasn’t the first time she hurt herself?

Did her ex-husband force her to do things like that?!

"Alright... I’m ready now." Roxanna nodded and closed her eyes. She stood on a sturdy branch, lifting her thigh so Azul could see where to stab.

Calen stepped behind her and gently held her hips, making sure she wouldn’t fall when Azul pierced her thigh.

Honestly... in any other situation, this position would’ve looked like a perfect mating pose.

But right now, none of the husbands could think about anything dirty at all because the thought of hurting this little angel made their hearts ache instead.

Azul then took the stone dagger hanging from his waist and said softly, "Just listen to the wind."